


Let Me Take Care Of You

by doing_her_best



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: College, F/F, Fluff, It's still a sickfic but it's an EMO sickfic, Post-Canon, Sickfic, because they are both ABSOLUTELY traumatized by their parents, but don't worry there's definitely cuddly cuteness, third chapter took a TURN, wlw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-08-19 14:48:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20211514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doing_her_best/pseuds/doing_her_best
Summary: When Alyssa falls ill a week before a National Debate competition, it's up to Emma to nurse her back to health.BONUS CHAPTER: Alyssa gets better just in time for Emma to get sick. The role reversal brings to light old insecurities and new emotions.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay folks, today is the Worst Day so I thought I would post the first half of something I'd been working on. Most of the second half is already written so hopefully will post soon!  
Hope everyone is hanging on, I'm not in the discord but I'm sure everyone is just as sad as I am.  
Thank you for all the wonderful fics you have made; please don't stop posting them! I love to read everything you all write.

“Hey,” Emma said as she kicked off her shoes. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I still have to finish reviewing a few more chapters,” Alyssa replied, not tearing her eyes from her notebook. “What were you up to tonight?”

“Went to a concert with some other music majors. What about you?”

“Just studying.” 

“It’s a Friday night. You work too damn hard,” Emma replied as she walked over to give Alyssa a “good-to-see-you” kiss. 

“Nationals is a week from today,” Alyssa replied by way of explanation. “The whole debate team is counting on me. I have to be perfect.”

Emma grimaced; pre-competition Alyssa was always a bit obsessed. “Well, I missed dinner so I’m going to cook something. Have you eaten yet?”

“No, but I’m not hungry.”

Emma frowned; when was Alyssa not hungry? “Okay, well I’ll make a little extra anyways,” she replied, poking around in the fridge. She quickly found all the ingredients for Alyssa’s favorite pasta dish - one of the easiest things she could cook. She quickly threw together some vegetables in red sauce and tossed it on top of two bowls of reheated noodles. 

But when Emma placed the plate down next to her, Alyssa’s nose wrinkled and she shook her head. 

“Come on, you have to eat something,” Emma said she watched Alyssa shove the bowl away.

“Em, I already told you I’m not hungry.”

Emma frowned. “Are you feeling okay?”

“My head really hurts,” Alyssa admitted. 

“Did you take any tylenol?”

“Yeah, I took two,” Alyssa said, rubbing her temples gently. “I just really need to get through these chapters tonight. If I don’t, then my study schedule for the week gets thrown off.”

“Your head hurts because you’ve been staring at your notes for hours,” Emma argued. “Why don’t you go to bed?”

“Not quite yet,” Alyssa insisted. 

Emma gave her a concerned look but didn’t press the issue too much. “Okay, well I’m going to eat and then head to bed. Don’t stay up too late, okay?”

Alyssa nodded weakly, cringing a little at the motion. Emma leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, trying to shove any worry out of her mind.

* * *

Saturday morning, Emma woke up in the best way: naturally, without an alarm, her arms wrapped lazily around Alyssa, her face buried deep in Alyssa’s messy hair. She sighed internally at the bliss; with both of their crazy class schedules and Alyssa prepping for debate 24/7, they almost never got to wake up without an alarm set. 

Emma glanced at their alarm clocked and realized just how late it was. Alyssa hardly ever let herself sleep late, even on weekends, and Emma grudgingly decided she should wake her up. She carefully moved around Alyssa’s hair and started to gently kiss down the back of her neck, slowly bringing her into consciousness.

“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Emma said with a small grin as she felt Alyssa stir. 

“Hm? What time is it?” Alyssa mumbled sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

Emma continued to kiss around the side of her neck. “It’s snuggle time, the best time of all…” 

“No, Em, really.”

Emma sighed. “Almost ten thirty.”

“ _ SHIT,”  _ Alyssa said as she jumped up from bed, pushing Emma’s arms away (much to her chagrin). She hurriedly threw off her pajamas and reached for jeans and a t-shirt. “I was supposed to be at the library half an hour ago.”

“What happened?” Emma said as she reached for her glasses. “Did you forget to set an alarm?”

“I guess. I was up all night coughing-”

“You were up all night?” Emma said, alarmed. “I didn’t hear you-”

“I sat in the bathroom so I didn’t wake you up,” Alyssa clarified. She disappeared to brush her teeth without further comment, and a very worried Emma followed her.

“Alyssa are you-” Emma paused when she saw her girlfriend hunched over the sink, coughing painfully and struggling to breathe. Emma placed a hand on her back and rubbed in slow circles until her girlfriend caught her breath again. 

Frowning, she placed a hand on Alyssa’s forehead; Alyssa shrugged it away but not before Emma could feel definite warmth radiating off of it. “Babe, I think you might have a fever. You should get back to bed.”

“I’ll be fine,” Alyssa replied breezily, brushing off the concerns. “I’ll just grab a few cough drops before I go.”

“ _ Alyssa _ ,” Emma said firmly. “Stop.”

Alyssa looked at Emma, her eyes narrowing. “What?”

“You need to slow down for a second,” Emma said, grabbing her hands. “You don’t sound good at all.”

Alyssa rolled her eyes. “It’s just a cough, Em. I can’t let it slow me down.” Shrugging off Emma’s concerns, she started brushing her teeth before letting the conversation go any further.

Emma bit the inside of her cheek, not pleased with how the conversation was going. “Will you at least take some medicine before going?”

Alyssa nodded as Emma reached into the medicine cabinet. Emma set out two tylenol and some cough syrup, which had Alyssa shaking her head. “No way. Cough syrup makes me sleepy, babe.”

“You’re not serious, are you?”

Alyssa shrugged as she quickly swallowed the tylenol. “Em, you can’t mess with The Greene Study Machine.” 

“If you weren’t so cute, I’d smack you,” Emma joked as she put it cough syrup back in the cabinet.

Alyssa grinned devilishly. “Well, good thing I’m so cute then,”she replied as she leaned in, sloppily kissing Emma on her cheek. 

Emma giggled, a rare sound for her, as Alyssa pecked silly kissed around the side of her face. All it took was a few kisses to make Emma lose her focus, allowing Alyssa to slip out of the apartment, Emma’s concerns only half way forgotten. 

* * *

Sunday morning, Emma woke up to the feeling of sunlight dancing across her face. It was early, Emma realized, maybe seven AM; Alyssa must have forgotten to close the blinds when she came home last night. She always closed them before the two got into bed, or the rising sun would wake them far too early in the morning like it did today. 

Emma hadn’t heard from Alyssa all day yesterday, as she ignored all of the texts Emma had sent throughout the day. She was probably hyper focused at the library, but she had stayed out so late Emma went to bed before she came home. Emma always slept better with Alyssa there to cuddle, so she was a little disappointed. She rolled over, about to playfully scold her her girlfriend for staying out so late studying-

-until she realized Alyssa wasn’t next to her. 

“Lys?” she called out to no response. She rolled out of bed, and a quick inspection of the bathroom, kitchen, and living room revealed that Alyssa wasn’t home.

That was odd. 

Emma went back to the bedroom to grab her phone, hoping to see a few missed texts, but found none. She quickly composed a “Where are you??” text to Alyssa, but the answer to her question dawned on her the second before she pressed send. 

Emma groaned out loud before quickly throwing on jeans, a flannel, and her converse. The library was about a fifteen minute walk from their apartment, and Emma knew it was exactly where she would find her girlfriend. 

Emma weaved through bookcases and desks until she finally found Alyssa’s favorite study spot, where she found her girlfriend hunched over a thick stack of textbooks, papers, and flashcards. She wouldn’t have recognized her if not for the fuzzy blue blanket draped around her shoulders that normally lived on their couch. When she got closer, Emma realized that Alyssa was actually asleep on her stack of books.

“Lys,” Emma whispered, placing a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder. She felt Alyssa startle awake under her light touch, the blanket draped over her body falling behind her. 

“Hmm? What time is it?”

“Lys, you need to come home and go to bed,” Emma said gently as Alyssa shook her head. She could tell Alyssa had gotten much, much worse in the last day; between her tangled hair, very gray looking face, and the thick sweats she was shivering under, she looked like a shell of herself. 

“I’m fine,” Alyssa replied. It would have been more believable if she hadn’t started to cough violently immediately after she said it, drawing the glares of other students who, Emma guessed, had been a little less than happy with hearing that all night.

“Babe, you’re not going to be able to focus if you’re not feeling well,” Emma reasoned, ruffling her hair gently. She reached for the book Alyssa had her hand in, but Alyssa tugged it away from her. 

“No,” she whispered fiercely as tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. 

“Let me take care of you,” Emma pleaded, watching a few stray tears trace down Alyssa’s cheeks. “If you just take a few days to rest, you’ll be better before the competition."

Alyssa paused for a moment, considering. “Please, love,” Emma whimpered. “I can’t bear to see you like this. I promise if you let me take care of you, you’ll feel better by next weekend.”

Alyssa nodded weakly before finally standing up and looking Emma in the eye. “I feel really sick, Em,” she finally admitted, letting the tears she had been holding back overflow.

“Oh, babe, I know,” Emma said, wrapping her arms tightly around her girlfriend as she curled into her torso. Alyssa normally tried to act so big and tough, but in her arms, she felt impossibly small. “Let’s get you home okay?"  


* * *

By the time they reached their apartment, Alyssa was already exhausted. Emma watched her collapse in their bed and curl up into a tiny ball, feeling devastated seeing her girlfriend so sick. 

Alyssa’s eyes were already starting to close, but Emma shook her awake. “Hold on, babe. I need to check your temperature and get you some medicine before you go to sleep.” Emma swiftly grabbed a thermometer from their bathroom and stuck in Alyssa’s mouth before she could protest. She sat stroking Alyssa’s hair gently until it beeped, and her stomach dropped when she saw the number.

“Oh, sweetie, I can’t believe you stayed in the library all night like this,” Emma said sadly. 

“I had to study,” Alyssa said with a drowsy yawn.

“Not with a fever of 103, you don’t.” Emma shook her head and quickly grabbed more tylenol and cough syrup along with a glass of water. 

“No cough syrup,” Alyssa mumbled, yawning again as she squeezed her pillow tightly. “It makes me sleepy.”

Emma laughed gently. “Babe, I think that’s a good thing,” she replied as she poured some into the dosage cup.   


Alyssa pouted but complied pretty quickly, downing the medicine without much of a fuss. It was only then Emma noticed how badly she was shivering. “Are you cold?” she asked, already standing up. Alyssa whimpered as Emma stepped away from her, but sighed contentedly when she returned with one of her sweatshirts.

Alyssa quickly slid it on and nestled herself deep into the oversized fabric. “Is that better?”

“A little,” Alyssa said, bunching up the covers around her. 

“Good,” Emma said. She stroked Alyssa’s cheek gently for a moment before kissing her forehead. “Sleep well, love.” She stood up, turned off the lights, and began to head out.

“Wait!” Alyssa called, before Emma stepped out of the room. She started coughing painfully after she said it, and Emma waited patiently until she was finished. 

“Yes, love?” 

“Can you lay with me?”

Emma said nothing. She only smiled warmly and quickly slid under the covers, wrapping her arms around Alyssa as she assumed a big spoon position. She felt her girlfriend shake with more violent coughing, but it only made her tighten her grip. Alyssa felt Emma kiss the back of her neck a few times as she slowly lost consciousness, finally feeling safe. 

* * *

When Alyssa woke up, she felt like she had been hit by a truck. Her whole body ached, her head felt fuzzy, and worst of all, Emma wasn’t with her. That was unacceptable. She slowly slid out of bed and, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, went to go find her, discovering her girlfriend reading on the living room couch. 

“Hey there, sunshine,” Emma said brightly as Alyssa shuffled into the living room. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay,” she replied weakly, a blatant lie. “What time is it?”

Emma checked her watch. “About ten am.”

Alyssa scrunched up her face. “It feels like I’ve been asleep longer than a few hours.”

Emma smiled sympathetically. “Babe, it’s Monday. You slept all day yesterday.”

Alyssa froze in terror. “Wh-what?”

“You were so worn out,” Emma said gently, rushing towards Alyssa’s side. Emma noticed her starting to shake slightly, so she lead her to sit down on the couch. She watched her girlfriend tuck her knees into her chest, and she placed a gentle hand to her forehead. “You still have a fever.”

Alyssa rubbed her eyes. “I have to go back to the library…” 

“No way,” Emma said firmly. “You’re staying here when I can keep an eye on you.”

Alyssa pouted. “Em, I have to study…”

“First you need to get better,” Emma replied, moving her hand away and replacing it with a gentle kiss. “I have some soup ready on the stove.”

“I’m not hungry-”

“Babe, you haven’t eaten in days,” Emma insisted. “It’ll help you get some strength back.” 

Alyssa nodded slightly and started to stand up. “No way,” Emma said. “You stay right there.”

“Em, I can get it myself,” Alyssa said, not very convincingly. “I’m not a baby.”

Emma stood up and lightly pressed Alyssa’s shoulder’s down. “I know you’re not a baby, you’re a grown ass woman on the verge of death with a beautiful, loving girlfriend here to take care of you. Now sit down and let me get it.”

Alyssa sunk back into the couch while Emma quickly grabbed her a bowl of soup. Growing up, Alyssa’s mother never doted on her like this; admitting you were sick wasn’t an option. It was nice, Alyssa realized, to be taken care of. 

Emma quickly returned with a bowl of soup and a glass of water on a tray. “Thank you,” Alyssa said sheepishly as Emma set the tray down on the coffee table. 

Emma gently stroked her cheek in response. “Anything for you, love. Do you want anything else?”

“Maybe… some tea?” Alyssa said before she could stop herself. She instantly regretted it, embarrassed asking for anything.

But Emma nodded, quickly jumping up. “With honey?”

“Yeah,” Alyssa replied shyly. “Thanks.”

Emma smiled as she filled their up the kettle; Alyssa already was sounding less grumpy. 

A few minutes later carefully returned with the tea, the bottle of honey, a cold compress in case Alyssa was still warm, and a box of tissues because she had heard her sneezing from the living room. 

“Why don’t you pick out something on Netflix?” Emma suggested as she set everything down. 

“Jane the Virgin,” Alyssa replied instantly. Emma grinned; it was Alyssa’s favorite show. She grabbed the remote and opened up Netflix, thankful that Alyssa hadn’t mentioned studying again. She turned on the show, sat down next to Alyssa and leaned back, motioning for Alyssa to lie down on her chest.

Alyssa frowned. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll get you sick?”

Emma grinned. “I’ll take the risk. Besides, don’t you want to cuddle?”

“I do… but I would feel awful if you catch this.”

“Well,” Emma said with a shrug, “Then it’ll be your turn to take care of  _ me _ .” 

Alyssa smiled lightly before complying and resting her head on her girlfriend’s chest, and the two snuggled close together as the episode started. Curling into Emma’s side, Alyssa sighed in bliss, realizing she could very quickly get used to this. 


	2. Chapter 2

Tuesday afternoon, Emma found herself looking at the clock for the fiftieth time that hour; it was 5:27. Emma promised herself she would wait until 6pm until she flipped out completely, but time felt like it was moving so slowly, and every minute she just kept picturing the worst. She sat at the kitchen table, nervously clenching and unclenching her fists, while she stared at her phone, willing her girlfriend to text her back. 

When Emma left for class this morning, she instructed Alyssa to stay in bed. Her girlfriend was still very sick and hadn’t put up much of a fuss, but when Emma came back for lunch, she was nowhere to be found. She wasn’t responding to texts or calls, and hunts in the library and the student union had been useless. 

Emma wasn’t sure what to do. When she left this morning, Alyssa’s fever was still high, and she was so weak she could barely stand. What if she had gotten sicker and tried to go to the doctor? What if she didn’t make it all the way there, and was stuck somewhere needing help? What if she had been in an accident? 

She grabbed her phone and checked the time again. It was 5:29. _Goddamnit_. Emma grabbed at her phone and scrolled through four hours worth of unanswered texts before she quickly composed a message: “If I don’t hear from you by 6, I’m calling your mother.” She didn’t even feel bad threatening because she was so worried out of her mind. In seconds, she finally had a reply:

“On my way home, back in twenty.” 

Emma felt her chest deflate as all of the fear drained out of her, but anger quickly replaced it. She paced around the apartment in fury until Alyssa returned, and when she saw her girlfriend walk in the door, she immediately started spewing. 

“_WHERE_ have you been? Alyssa, you _CANNOT_ just disappear like that! I was worried out of my mind that you were sick somewhere, or hurt, or in the emergency room for all I knew! _WHAT_ do you have to say for yourself?”

But Alyssa said absolutely nothing. Emma watched her lip quiver as she kicked off her shoes and lay down on the couch, tucking her knees into her chest and burying her face in her hands before a sob bubbled out. Emma sat down next to her and placed Alyssa’s head in her lap while she broke down, listening patiently to painful sobs (interspersed with coughing) and stroking her back until she calmed down.

“You wanna tell me what happened?” Emma murmered when Alyssa sounded like she was catching her breath. She gently wiped some of Alyssa’s tears away with her thumb. 

“I was at debate practice,” Alyssa sniffled sadly. “They want to kick me off the debate team.”

Emma was shocked. “What?! Lys, that doesn’t make any sense. You’re the captain.”

Alyssa buried her face deeper in Emma’s lap, fighting to hold back more sobs. “They said if I’m not spending this week studying, then I won’t be prepared to compete this weekend so I should just stay home.”

Emma clenched her jaw in fury as she began to run her fingers through Alyssa’s hair. “Okay, that’s bullshit. You’ve been working hard all semester for this; they know how hard you work.” 

“Doesn’t matter,” she said with a sad sniffle. “They said it’s all about the final push this week since they just released additional study material.”

“Did they actually say you can’t go to the tournament?”

“Not exactly…” Alyssa trailed off. “They also said they didn’t want me getting anyone else sick.”

“Well, I honestly think that’s fair,” Emma said gently as she looked down at her, trying to sneakily place her hand on Alyssa’s head to feel her fever. Alyssa sat up angrily and crossed her arms, shrinking away to the other side of the couch. 

“I want to compete…” Alyssa whined, sticking out her lip in a pout. 

“Okay,” Emma reasoned, “So then the only answer is that you have to get better by the time the bus pulls away Friday morning.”

Alyssa looked at her wide-eyed. “Yeah, I guess…” 

“So, will you actually stay in bed?”

Alyssa reached up to swipe her tears away. “I need to study.”

“Lys, you can study in bed if you have to. You are only going to make yourself sicker if you are running around all day.”

Alyssa ducked her head, a half nod. “I just want to feel better.”

“And you will if you let me take care of you,” Emma insisted, inching closer to her.

“Okay…”

“So you know what that means?” Emma continued. “It means you cannot run away from me again.”

“I know,” Alyssa mumbled, not looking her in the eyes. “I’m sorry…”

“No,” Emma said firmly. She grabbed the sides of Alyssa face and stared at her deeply. “Alyssa, I love you, but I was scared to death earlier. You need to promise me you won’t do that again.”

Alyssa nodded slowly. “I promise. I’m sorry, Emma.”

“I was so, so worried…” Emma said, trailing off as her eyes begin to get cloudy. “I thought something happened to you.”

“Em…” Alyssa said gently. “I’m okay, I promise.”

“Alyssa, you’re… you’re all I’ve got. I need you to stay safe.”

Alyssa’s eyes bugged out as she saw a single tear escape and fall down Emma’s cheeks. She threw her arms around Emma and the two embraced tightly, so close they could feel each other’s heart beats. She felt Emma place her head on her shoulder for a few long moments before she sat up again.

“Okay,” Emma said, shaking her head to collect herself. “What do you need to study here?” 

“Everything’s in my backpack,” Alyssa replied. 

“Gotcha,” Emma said. She quickly spread out their fuzzy blue blanket over Alyssa before grabbing her backpack and setting it down next to her with a satisfying plop. “Let the Greene Study Machine commence!”

* * *

“Em,” Alyssa called as she flipped through flashcards, “The humidifier turned off.”

“What?”

“THE HUMIDIFIER!” Alyssa shouted back, coughing. Emma quickly scurried back into the bedroom carrying a pitcher of water to refill the machine. 

“Emma, you’re supposed to use distilled water,” Alyssa corrected. 

“We’re all out,” Emma replied. When Alyssa gave her a disappointed pout, she put down the pitcher and sighed. “Okay, I can run back to the store when the soup’s ready.”

Alyssa said nothing, she just continued to flip through her flashcards. Emma looked at her expectantly for a moment before heading back out to the kitchen. She couldn’t believe it was already Thursday and Alyssa still hadn’t gotten completely better; her symptoms had calmed down a lot, but she still had that cough and a fever that just wouldn’t quit keeping her cooped up in the apartment. 

“Em?” Alyssa called again. “Can you also make me more tea?”

“Sure, babe,” Emma said, coming back to the bedroom retrieve the empty mug on Alyssa’s nightstand. “The ginger one, or the throat coat?”

“Throat coat,” Alyssa said as Emma grabbed the mug. Her brow furrowed watching Alyssa unwrap a cough and carelessly toss the wrapper on the ground. Emma looked at her expectantly a moment, but she was already absorbed in her flashcards against. Emma rolled her eyes and reached down to pick up the wrapper without so much as a thank you.

Emma grumbled to herself as she returned to the kitchen. She knew Alyssa wasn’t feeling well and was in the final push of studying, but this was all getting to be ... a bit much.

“Here you go,” Emma said as she returned carrying the soup on a tray. Alyssa sat up expectantly, but Emma noticed her groaning in pain as she got to a sitting position. “You okay?” 

“My back really hurts,” Alyssa confessed, wincing in pain as she shifted on the bed.

Emma frowned as she placed a hand on Alyssa’s shoulder. “Aw, babe. It’s probably because you’re hunched over coughing so much.” 

Alyssa nodded and tilted her head onto Emma’s hand, sighing gently with her eyes closed. 

Emma smiled sadly as she looked down at her, feeling guilty for being irritated with her poor, sick girlfriend. All it took was one look at her Alyssa’s peaceful face to forget her frustrations. She could feel the anger building in her melt away-

“So, can you grab me another pillow from the living room?”

Ah, it was back.

“Sure,” Emma replied, slinking back to the living room with her teeth clenched. Alyssa didn’t notice; she was checking her temperature again, the sixth time that day. She knew they wouldn’t let her on the bus if she still seemed sick, and she scowled at the numbers on the device. 101; _that’s still too high_, she grumbled, her appetite waning as she turned her attention to the soup Emma had gotten ber. She took a sip of the broth and quickly made a face.

“Em? The soup, it’s too salty-”

_THUMP_.

Alyssa was startled silent by the pillow that flew across the room and smacked against the wall. Before she could say anything. She saw Emma’s face, red with fury, and watched her let out a frustrated scream.

“WOULD YOU GIVE IT A REST??”

Alyssa was beyond shocked; she had never heard Emma raise her voice like that before. She didn’t have a chance to reply before Emma stormed out of their apartment, the door slamming behind her.

Alyssa froze for more than a few minutes; that was not the Emma she knew. Her Emma was endlessly quiet, patient, and gentle, and seeing her yell like that was certainly a first. She knew that she had been a little needy the past few days, but, Alyssa thought, had she really been that awful to Emma?

_Yes_, she realized, _yes I have. _

Shaking, she placed her soup on her nightstand and reached for her phone to dial Emma, ready to apologize profusely. But after the first ring, she heard Emma’s cell chirping from the living room; she hadn’t taken it with her. 

Seconds later, Alyssa felt her entire body ache as she bent over coughing again. A deep shame filled Alyssa as she crawled out of bed in search of a glass of water, feeling so incredibly alone as she shuffled to the kitchen-

-and immediately tripped as she tried to exit their bedroom.

Alyssa growled in anger and embarrassment as she stumbled, narrowly catching herself on the doorframe before tumbling to the ground. She dizzily placed a hand against her forehead, her head feeling remarkably heavy, before she looked down and realized the reason she tripped was the open suitcase in their living room, setting off a volley of thoughts all at once.

_Why is she packing a suitcase? IS SHE LEAVING ME??_

_No. This is your suitcase. She left it out for you this morning. _

_You still have to pack for tomorrow, you dumbass._

Alyssa sighed with the realization. Going through the motions of packing her competition clothing was exhausting, and by the time she zipped the suitcase closed, she felt about ready to collapse. She barely remembered to set an alarm before collapsing into bed, pulling the blankets close around her. She glanced at the long cooled soup sitting on the nightstand, but she had lost her appetite completely.

Emma still hadn’t come back.

Shivering, Alyssa went to grab a sweatshirt, but pulled one of Emma’s flannel’s out of the drawer instead; it smelled like her. She wrapped herself in the red checkered shirt before sliding into bed, feeling its brutal emptiness in Emma’s absence. Her face felt hot, and she wished she had something cool to lay on her forehead, but walking to the kitchen just felt exhausting. 

Without realizing it, Alyssa cried herself to sleep.

* * *

She lost the competition.

Her team was furious, they wouldn’t speak to her.

No one would answer her calls.

Her father was gone. Her mother was gone. And Emma was gone.

They all hated her. She was a terrible, awful person, and no one wanted to be around her. 

She was all alone. Something terrible was happening, and she was alone.

The awfulness of it all swirled around Alyssa, drowning her, consuming her, making it harder and harder to breathe-

-until Alyssa screamed and sat up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat, her body pulling her out of the nightmare a few minutes too late. 

She struggled to breathe as she made sense of when, where, and how, panic still filling her body. She started to sob uncontrollably, the icy cold fear of her dream still pulsing through her. She shook with senseless fear, unable to realize her surroundings...

… until a warm arm wrapped around her. She wasn’t alone, after all. 

“Shhh, you’re okay,” a calming voice whispered. “It was just a dream.” Alyssa burrowed deep into Emma’s chest, sobbing as her girlfriend stroked her hair calmly. 

“Emma…” Alyssa choked through her tears, coughing and crying. 

“It was a dream, baby, you’re okay,” Emma assured her. “Just breathe.”

Alyssa took a deep, painful breath before whimpering, “You came back?”

“Of course I did,” Emma said, lightly squeezing Alyssa’s torso. “I just needed to walk it off and calm down.”

"I thought... I thought you weren't coming back."

"What?" Emma breathed. "Lys, no way. I just needed to breathe. I'm always going to come back to you."

“Promise me you’ll always come back,” Alyssa pleaded desperately, shaking as she held onto Emma’s shirt like a lifeline. 

“I promise,” Emma said, kissing the top of Alyssa’s head. She gently wiped the back of her hand against Alyssa’s forehead, where a thick layer of sweat had formed. “Your fever’s breaking,” she said softly. “Lie back down.”

Alyssa shook her head, refusing to let go of Emma, even for a second. Emma complied and lowered her body down, bringing Alyssa down with her. She very gently tucked a blanket up towards Alyssa’s chin and pushed a few locks of hair away from her face before laying her head down next to her so that Alyssa could burrow into the crook of her neck. 

“I’m sorry for snapping earlier,” Emma whispered, staring down at Alyssa’s sleepy eyes.

“I’m sorry for... being an awful girlfriend,” Alyssa replied, tears threatening to overflow again.

“You’re not awful, never say that,” Emma insisted. “I love you. In sickness and in health.”

Alyssa yawned, not releasing her death grip on Emma’s shirt. “I think that only applies if we’re married.”

Even in the darkness, Emma felt her face flame with the unspoken words: _Maybe someday_. “Go back to sleep, dork.”

* * *

The sharp beeping of her alarm pulled Alyssa into consciousness, and she immediately noticed how empty the bed felt. Emma wasn’t there. Alyssa felt a pang of fear before she remembered that Emma had an early morning class on Fridays. She sat up and rubbed her tired eyes, realizing that the simple motion didn’t leave her dizzy as it had the last few days. 

Alyssa reached for the thermometer on her nightstand and winged a quick prayer as she stuck it under her tongue. The minute of waiting before it beep was agony, but she almost squealed when she saw the numbers staring back at her: 99.4. Much, much better.

“YES,” she said out loud to her empty apartment. She was going to the competition, and she was going to win. She eagerly grabbed her phone to text Emma… but dropped it when the shame of their previous fight flooded back. They never, ever fought, and Alyssa was guilt-stricken; she owed Emma a much bigger apology than she gave her last night, and she didn’t want to do that over text. _I’ll have to apologize in person when I get back_, she realized. 

She quickly showered, changed, and grabbed her suitcase, ready to meet the team at the bus stop, but she stopped when she saw something waiting for her on the kitchen counter: a bag of lemon drops, Alyssa’s favorite candy from the homemade sweets shop on the other side of town. Emma must have picked them up yesterday night without her knowing. Alyssa reached for the bag and discovered the note attached on the side:

“Break a leg, my love. -E.”

* * *

Sunday night, Alyssa stumbled into the apartment, more than a little off balance as she carried in her suitcase, her purse, her first place trophy, and a large bouquet of roses. She was exhausted from the long bus ride, and her detour to the flourist was a pain, but she was looking forward to giving the flowers to her girlfriend more than anything else. 

“Emma?” she called out as she threw down her bags. She received no response; that’s odd, Alyssa thought, as Emma was usually home at this time. A shiver of fear zipped through Alyssa’s mind (what if she’s still mad at me?), but she shoved it away as she quickly found a vase for the flowers. She wanted to hand them to Emma in person, but at least she would see them when she got home. She went to throw her suitcase in the bedroom, still wondering where her girlfriend was…

...until she saw Emma, fast asleep in bed. 

Alyssa smiled at how peaceful she looked, but she quickly realized that something was off. Emma was curled up under three thick blankets, which was odd because she normally ran hot. A box of tissues sat on the nightstand next to a mug of long cooled tea. Alyssa’s forehead creased with concern as she sat down on the edge of the bed and gently placed a hand on Emma’s forehead; she definitely felt a fever.

Alyssa felt her heart leap with guilt for a moment, but without a second thought, she kicked off her shoes and slid into bed, spooning herself around Emma’s still sleeping body. She wrapped her arm around Emma’s stomach and nestled her face into the crook of her neck, feeling her girlfriend begin to stir next to her.

“Hey,” Emma murmured, half asleep.

“Hey,” Alyssa responded simply.

“Did you win?”

“Yeah, I did,” Alyssa responded. She began to stroke soft circles on Emma’s stomach with her finger tips. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I’m proud of you,” Emma responded with a yawn. She coughed weakly, Alyssa feeling her body shake with each labored breath. 

“Oh, Em,” Alyssa said sadly, tightening her grip as she squeezed around Emma’s torso.

“Well, the competition's over,” Emma said. “What do you want to do now?”

Alyssa smiled and placed a gentle kiss into the nape of Emma’s neck. “Now, it’s _my_ turn to take care of _you_.”  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I .... might do a third chapter of Alyssa taking care of Emma? We'll see...


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow this took a very unexpected turn while I was writing it. Enjoy!

“I was talking to your high school debate coach last week, and he is just so happy for you,” Mrs. Greene trilled over the phone.

“Uh-huh,” Alyssa said absent-mindedly, rolling over on the couch. 

“It’s really quite an accomplishment,” her mother continued. “I was just telling Maria at church-”

Alyssa groaned internally as her mother launched into a story she was only half-listening to. She was beyond exhausted and didn’t have the patience to listen to her mother’s ramblings any longer.

“Alyssa? Are you listening?”

“What?”

“I feel like I haven’t spoken to you in ages,” her mother prodded. “What else is going on?”

“Nothing… much. I had a bad cold last week but I’m fine now.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I barely left my bed last week-”

“Did you miss any class?”

_ Your concern is touching, _Alyssa thought icily. She held back the words through gritted teeth. “I missed a few days, but I’m all caught up.”

“Well, good. You sure you aren’t falling behind?”

“No, Mom,” Alyssa said, rolling her eyes. She rolled over to lay on her stomach, trying to ignore the fact that her mother seemed more concerned with her already perfect GPA than her health. “I’m on track for midterms.”

“Good, because I wouldn’t want you to loose a step. Academics are the most important thing.”

Alyssa yawned before she could stop herself. 

“Are you alright? Getting enough sleep?”

“I’m fine, mom, just… still catching up on sleep from the trip this weekend.” 

“And how is Emma?”

“Emma’s… fine.”

That was a huge lie. With Emma now under the weather, last night had been truly terrible. Neither Emma nor Alyssa had slept more than a half hour at a time. Emma just couldn’t get comfortable; between her fever spiking and congestion, she was absolutely miserable and was tossing and turning all night. Alyssa sat up with her, rubbing her back, wiping a wet washcloth on her forehead, and fluffing her pillows, doing all the things Emma did when she was sick. Alyssa felt awful for her… but she was also exhausted herself.

Alyssa couldn’t hear what her mother said next because she was far too focused on a distressing cry coming from the bedroom. “Ow! Damnit!” 

“OkaySorryMomIGottaGoLoveYouBye.”

“Alyssa, I-” She did hear the rest of her mother’s sentence because she had already hung up her phone and dashed towards the bedroom. She threw open the doors to find Emma lying on the ground outside their dresser, clutching her leg in pain.

“Em! Are you okay?” Alyssa asked, crouching down next to her.

“I’m okay,” Emma mumbled, biting down on her bottom lip. “I just banged my knee on the drawer like an idiot.”

“What are you doing out of bed?”

“I just wanted to change my shirt,” Emma replied as she pushed herself to a sitting position. “I spilled some tea on this one and it’s a little sticky.”

“Oh,” Alyssa replied awkwardly. “Well, here you go,” she said as she reached into the drawer and grabbed Emma a new pajama top.

“Thanks,” Emma said as Alyssa handed it to her. But she didn’t move from the floor.

“Do you… need some help changing?” Alyssa asked. She instantly felt her face turn red as a tomato, and she wasn’t sure why. She had seen Emma undress _ plenty _ of times… in fact, many of those times Alyssa had done the undressing for her. But that was under a completely different context, and this was an entirely different kind of intimate. 

Emma looked at her funny and said, “No, I got it.” She quickly flung her shirt off and replaced it with the new one before continuing. “I’m just a little dizzy, I’ll get up in a second.”

“Oh, gotcha,” Alyssa replied. “I can… help you get back to bed.”

Emma nodded slowly as Alyssa reached out her hand. The two carefully walked back the bed, where Emma quickly collapsed and curled up on her side. Alyssa lay down next to her, their faces inches apart, and began to softly push locks of Emma’s hair away from her face. She looked smaller, weaker than Alyssa could ever remember seeing her. “Can I get you some more medicine?”

“No, I just took some,” Emma said, her eyes fluttering shut for a moment.

“Okay,” Alyssa said awkwardly. “Can I get you anything else? More tea?”

“No, I’m good.”

“You ... have enough tissues?”

“Yup,” Emma said with a heavy yawn, her eyes fluttering again. 

“Why don’t you try to get some sleep? You must be exhausted”

Emma nodded slowly. “Sorry for keeping you up last night.”

“It’s okay,” Alyssa replied.

“Do you want to sleep on the couch tonight?”

Alyssa’s brown creased with concern. “Why would I do that?”

“I know you have that calculus test tomorrow,” Emma replied, yawning again. “And since you barely got any sleep last night, you should get a full eight hours before you take it.

“Oh,” Alyssa said simply. That _ did _ sound awfully tempting; she was exhausted from the previous night’s endeavors. But, “What if you need me?”

“I’ll be okay,” Emma said evenly.

Alyssa frowned. When she was sick last week, all she wanted to do was snuggle up with Emma. Why didn’t Emma want the same? Alyssa stared at her girlfriend for a moment before leaning in and kissing her on the nose. “I’ll think about it.”

Instantly, Emma’s nose wrinkled and she scrunched up her face before she quickly turned her head away and sneezed. Alyssa’s eyes widened at how cute it was, high pitched and breathless.

“Oh my god,” Alyssa said excitedly. “That was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Emma sniffled, confused. “What? Why?”

“You sneeze like a kitten” Alyssa replied with a giggle.

Emma made a mad face. “I do not.”

“Yes you do!”

“I’m not a kitten,” Emma snarled. “I’m a dragon. Fear me.”

“Okay, whatever you say babe,” Alyssa said, suppressing more giggles as she leaned in and kissed Emma’s nose again. Once again, the light touch set Emma off, and she quickly sneezed again much to Alyssa’s enjoyment. 

“Alyssa...,” Emma whined as she scrubbed at her nose with the back of her hand.

“Sorry, I’ll stop. I love you, kitten.”

“_ Dragon,” _ Emma quickly corrected.

“Whatever you say. Love you, dragon.”

* * *

“Hey! Alyssa!”

Alyssa smiled and waved as Kaylee and Shelby jogged over to her. It was nice seeing them around campus, even if it did make her feel trapped in high school. “How’d you do on the test?” Shelby asked. 

“I think I did okay,” Alyssa said modestly.

Kaylee snorted. “Is that Alyssa-code for acing it?”

Alyssa stuck out her tongue; Kaylee was right, she was pretty confident she crushed it.

“We’re going to grab lunch,” Shelby said. “Do you want to come with?”

Alyssa shook her head. “Emma isn’t feeling well; I should go home and check on her.”

“Aw, okay. We’ll miss you.”

“You’re such a good girlfriend, taking care of her,” Kaylee said. “Tell her we said feel better.”

“I will, see you guys,” Alyssa said, grateful they didn’t stick around. Alyssa kicked some stones as she walked towards her apartment. She was sure she had aced the test, but at what cost? Getting a full night’s sleep on the couch made her feel well-rested and guilt stricken. She knew she should have spent the night with Emma, but well… Emma had _ told _ her to sleep on the couch, didn’t she?

_ You’re such a good girlfriend, _ Kaylee had told her. Then why did Emma keep pushing her away? And why did she let Emma do it?

Alyssa quickly reached her apartment, and she held her breath as she opened their front door. She was startled when she heard a faint whine came from the bedroom. _ “ _Alyssa?” 

“I’m home, babe.” 

Emma called out for her again, this time with pain evident in her voice. “Alyssa!”

Alyssa’s heart skipped a beat as she dropped her backpack and dashed into the bedroom. She flung open the door in horror and ran towards the bundle of blankets that supposedly held her girlfriend underneath. 

“Emma? What’s wrong?” Alyssa asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed. It took her a few long moments to find Emma’s very pale, sweaty face in the sea of blankets… and to realize that the area around it was soaking wet.

Emma was shivering violently as she spoke through forming tears. “I… I was trying to shower.”

“Em, what happened?”

Emma choked for a moment, holding back a sob, before trying to explain frantically. “I… I got really hot so I tried to take a shower, but then I got cold again, and… and really dizzy, so I had to lie down, so I put on sweats again, but my hair, it wasn’t dry, but I couldn’t stand up any longer-”

“Oh, honey,” Alyssa murmured, pausing Emma’s rambling as she lay her palm down on her cheek. She could feel insane warmth radiating off of it. “I think you’re a little delirious.” 

“Alyssa, I… I…” Emma whimpered through tears, beginning to tremble even harder.

“Let’s get your hair dry,” Alyssa said nervously, trying to figure out an action plan. “Do you think you can sit up now?”

Emma nodded and slowly rose, Alyssa carefully supporting her torso. She placed a hand on Emma’s back, scared at how badly she was shivering. She froze for a moment, unsure of what to do. Emma couldn’t lie there in those wet sheets any longer, but she seemed too weak to stand up. “I… guess you can lie on the couch for a bit?”

The fear and uncertainty in Alyssa’s voice was palpable and did little to inspire confidence in either of them. Much to Alyssa’s terror, Emma burst into tears.

“Emma, shit, I’m sorry,” Alyssa sputtered. “What can I do?”

“I want…” Emma started to say, but she just started crying harder. 

“What, babe?”

Emma finally choked it out with a wail. “I want my mom!”

* * *

An hour later, calm had returned to the apartment. Sheets and blankets spun through the drier while Alyssa patiently sat behind Emma on the living room couch, blow drying her hair. Emma gently pressed an ice pack to her forehead while Alyssa carefully dried her hair section by section, lingering a little longer than necessary because Emma liked the warmth on her neck and shoulders. When everything was dry, Alyssa grabbed a brush and slowly, slowly began to work through the tangled, frizzy mess the blow dryer had created, turning Emma’s normally messy curls in soft waves. 

“Let me know if I’m tugging too hard,” Alyssa said, breaking the silence. Neither of them had spoken in some time; the growl of the blow dryer had silenced them both.

Emma cleared her throat. “You’re not.” She paused before continuing. “When you were in cheer, you guys all did each other’s hair before games, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Alyssa flashed back to the hours spent before games with her team, hours of straightening and braiding and curling and ties and ribbons. She had spent hours with other girls doing hair, but this felt entirely different. 

More silence followed until Emma spoke again. “No one's brushed my hair for me since I was like seven.”

“Oh, I can stop,” Alyssa said, letting her hands fall into her lap.

“No, don’t. It’s…. nice.”

“Okay.”

More silence filled the room, save the soft sounds of the brush moving, until Alyssa spoke again. “Your hair’s gotten so long…”

“Yeah,” Emma replied, “I’m thinking about getting it cut.”

“Yeah, a few inches off might be good-”

“No,” Emma said. “I want to… cut all of it off.”

“Oh,” Alyssa replied. “Like a pixie cut?”

“Yeah.”

“I think that’d be really cool,” Alyssa said honestly, trying to picture it. 

“I’ve kind of always wanted one,” Emma confessed. “I was just afraid of looking too….”

“Too gay?” Alyssa finished for her. 

Emma swallowed, coughing softly as she cleared her throat. “Yeah, that.”

Alyssa nodded before she remembered that Emma’s back was to her and she couldn’t see it. “Yeah, I get that. But we aren’t in Indiana anymore; you don’t have to hide from anyone.”

She heard Emma sniffle softly and felt her tense up. Alyssa stilled her motions. “Am I hurting you?” Emma shook her head silently, so Alyssa kept brushing. She closed her eyes for a moment, realizing it was time to talk. 

“My dad was always the cuddly parent,” Alyssa admitted. “While my mom was busy being so type A all the time, my dad was the one reading me bedtime stories and giving hugs and kisses and taking care of me when I was sick, so well, when he left… well, it’s been a long time since I’ve gotten any of that.” 

Alyssa felt Emma relax a little, but she knew she had to keep going or she would never get the words out. She clutched the hairbrush a little firmer before continuing. “So this… taking care of you, it doesn’t really come naturally to me. I don’t really have anything to model off of. You were so good to me last week, and I don’t really know if I’m doing or saying the right thing, and Emma, I… I love you so, so much, and I guess it was naive of me to assume that I would be enough for you-”

“You’re all I could ever want and more,” Emma said firmly. “I don’t and never will want or need anyone but you.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Alyssa said gently. She realized she had finished brushing through Emma’s hair and lowered the hairbrush into her lap. “Emma, we don’t ever really talk about your parents, and part of that’s my fault. And I will never, ever forgive them for what they did to you, and neither should you, but… it’s okay to miss them.”

“Stop,” Emma said. Alyssa watched her place the ice pack she had been clutching on the coffee table and wipe to condensation off of her forehead. “We don’t have to do this right now.”

“If not now, when?” There was a long silence, before Alyssa tried again. “Emma, you can talk to me. I know you don’t like to share this kind of stuff, but of all people, I can imagine what it feels like to be rejected by a parent.”

Alyssa felt the weight of the words after she said them, and a great hollowness filled her chest. Emma didn’t speak for the longest time, and then she did.

“Do you miss your dad?” she asked finally.

Alyssa didn’t hesitate before responding. “Every day. I know it’s awful what he did to me and my mom, but I still miss what we used to have when I was little. And…”

“And what?”

“I wonder about him a lot. Where he is, what he’s doing. If he’d be … proud of me.”

At that, Emma spun around and pressed her forehead to Alysssa’s. Both girls were still for a moment before Emma said simply, “Alyssa, how could he not be?”

Alyssa didn’t respond; she closed her eyes, and Emma was pretty sure she was holding back tears. Emma reached for her hands and squeezed gently before blurting out, “Well, here’s to being kids from broken homes!”

A laugh bubbled out of Alyssa before she raised her hand for a high-five. Emma quickly complied and lightly slapped her hand before she her laughter forced her to double over coughing. Alyssa patiently rubbed her knee until she caught her breath and finally spoke.

“My mom… whenever I was sick when I was little, the first thing she’d do was make me take a bubble bath.”

“Is that why you tried to get in the shower?”

Emma nodded silently, leaning back in and pressing their foreheads together again. Her breath was shaky, Alyssa noticed, but she kept going. “I’d take a bubble bath, and then we’d watch movies on the couch. The Little Mermaid, then Pochahontas, then The Lion King. I normally wasn’t allowed to watch that much TV, but we’d do it anyways. And we’d eat popsicles. You know the ones that are red, orange, and purple?”

“Yeah, I love those.”

Emma tucked her chin into her chest, and half nod. “My mom would eat all the red ones, because those were her favorites, and my favorites were the purples. And I’d always fall asleep on the couch lying on top of her. And even if I felt crummy, it was still nice.”

“That does sound nice,” Alyssa agreed. “It’s okay, to miss that.”

“Even though she called me a disgusting freak and said to never speak to her again?”

It was like lightning shot Alyssa through the heart when she heard that. Emma had recounted it all for her before, but it still made her so mad she saw stars. “Even though,” Alyssa replied. She quickly tried to shake off that hurt and kept talking. “Em, we are still figuring out a lot of stuff, how to, you know, be people and do stuff.”

“Wow, very articulate,” Emma joked.

Alyssa rolled her eyes playfully. “You know what I mean. I just wanted to say … I’m still figuring some stuff out, but I want to do everything I can for you. I’m not going anywhere, and _ nothing _ you do will make me want to leave.”

“Nothing?” Emma asked, her voice cracking a little.

Alyssa nodded. _ “Nothing, _ babe. You can ask for things, and be needy, and keep me up all night, and even barf all over me-”

“Well I promise I won’t do _ that,” _ Emma said.

“Well you _ could_,” Alyssa said laughing lightly. “And I still won’t leave you.”

Emma’s lip quivered, the power of those words sinking in. “I love you, so, so much Lys,” she said, her voice cracking again. 

“I love you too, Emma. In sickness and in health.”

“That only applies if we’re married,” Emma sing-songed, mimicking Alyssa a few nights ago.

“Okay, I deserved that,” Alyssa said with a laugh. She spun towards the TV. “But, well…” She quickly reached for the remote and turned on Netflix. “I, for one, love Disney cartoons. Although we have to work Aladdin into the mix.”

“Of course,” Emma said with a small smile.

“And I am _ very _ okay with you falling asleep on top of me,” Alyssa continued, lying back on the couch. 

Emma grinned and crawled over, lying down so that her head was on Alyssa’s chest. “Is this comfy?” Alyssa asked.

“This is perfect,” Emma said with a small sigh.

Alyssa relaxed, smiling gently. “Good. But, we do have one problem.”

“What?”

“I don’t like the red popsicles,” Alyssa said. “I like the orange ones though.”

“Really?” Emma said, making a face. “Those are gross.”

“I can’t help it!” Alyssa protested. “I just think they taste the best.” 

Emma yawned and snuggled deeper into Alyssa, intertwining their fingers. “It’s okay, I’ll forgive you for being wrong.”

Alyssa started to rub her back, smiling as she felt Emma’s heartbeat slow down. “That’s all I can ask for.”

* * *

The click of the front door brought Emma into consciousness. She sighed lightly, realizing while she did not want to be awake, but that she felt incredibly comfortable. She snuggled deeper under the heavy blue blanket that cocooned her, wanting to feel Alyssa’s warmth…

..Until she realized Alyssa wasn’t there. 

Emma rolled over and grabbed her glasses, quickly finding Alyssa at the front door.

“Hey there,” Alyssa said when she saw Emma staring at her.

“Where’d you go?” Emma ask drowsily as Alyssa slid in the door.

“The store,” she replied nonchalantly. She reached into the plastic bag she was holding and pulled out a box of popsicles, the red, orange, and purple kind.

Emma’s eyes bugged out. “I haven’t eaten dinner yet.”

Alyssa shrugged as she tore open the box and reached for two popsicles. “So?”

Emma smiled brightly as Alyssa tossed her a popsicle, purple. She unwrapped it own and eagerly licked the length of it, moaning a little as the cool sugar filled her mouth.

“Okay, that was a little pornographic,” Alyssa said as she unwrapped her own popsicle. 

“Um, Lys? You know I’m a lesbian, right?”

“_ WHAT? _ You’re a lesbian? _ WHY _didn’t you say something sooner???” 

Emma snorted. “I think it’s come up a few times,” she joked as she licked her popsicle again.

“Hmm, now that you mention it, I think I remember you saying that once or twice,” Alyssa replied as she unwrapped her own popsicle and popped it into her mouth. She sauntered over to the couch and plopped down next to Emma, dropping her backpack next to them. “Did you have a good nap?”

Emma nodded. “Yeah, I did.” She smiled at Alyssa and sniffled softly. “Thanks for being a great pillow.”

“Always,” Alyssa replied with a grin. She stared at Emma dreamily for a few moments, but then her eyes widened. “Oh my god, I almost forgot,” Alyssa said excitedly as she reached into her backpack and pulled out a small stuffed dragon. 

Emma laughed as Alyssa presented it to her. “Oh man, you did not get this.”

Alyssa smiled brightly as she sat back down. “For my favorite kitten.” 

Emma pretended to make a mad face, which Alyssa responded to by simply leaning over and kissing her on the nose.

“Alyssa..,” Emma whined playfully while her face scrunched up. Alyssa grinned slyly as she turned her head away and sneezed into her elbow. 

“_Achew! _Why’d you do that?” Emma said as Alyssa started to laugh.

“I can’t help it!” Alyssa giggled, leaning back in to kiss her nose again. “You’re just too cute…”

“Lys, stop it!” Emma said with a little laugh before a second sneeze followed. “_Achew! _You’re the worst.”

“Yeah, but you love me!” Alyssa protested.

“Hmph, maybe, I guess…” 

_ That _ was an unacceptable answer, so Alyssa leaned in a third time and placed another gentle kiss on Emma’s nose.

“_Achew! _Okay, okay, I love you!” 

Alyssa answered with a final kiss, just a few inches lower on Emma’s lips. They were still slightly warmer than usual with fever and still lightly tinted purple from the popsicle, but everything about it was perfect. 

“Good,” Alyssa said as she pulled away and gazed at Emma’s flustered, breathless face. “Because I love you too.”


End file.
